GoDaddy - "Buddy" the lost puppy - (2015) (USA)

Oh look, it's Buddy! Buddy from the puppy love ad, isn't it? Why, it's as if Godaddy found a leaked script to Budweiser's "Lost puppy" and poked fun at it. Had this run during the super bowl, it could even had served as a funny callback to the Budweiser ad.

But alas, it is not to be, Godaddy has announced that they're pulling this ad from the Super Bowl. Some people were outraged that boomerang Buddy the puppy is being sold online. "Puppy mills" the outraged screamed, failing to see the joke, and GoDaddy took notice:

This morning we previewed GoDaddy’s Super Bowl spot on a popular talk show, and shortly after a controversy started to swirl about Buddy, our puppy, being sold online. The responses were emotional and direct. Many people urged us not to run the ad.
We’ve made a tremendous amount of progress over the past two years, advancing the GoDaddy brand as a company that cares a great deal about small business and is in their corner to help them succeed. People increasingly know who we are, what we do and who we do it for. At the end of the day, our purpose at GoDaddy is to help small businesses around the world build a successful online presence. We hoped our ad would increase awareness of that cause. However, we underestimated the emotional response. And we heard that loud and clear.
The net result? We are pulling the ad from the Super Bowl. You’ll still see us in the Big Game this year, and we hope it makes you laugh.
Finally, rest assured, Buddy came to us from a reputable and loving breeder in California. He’s now part of the GoDaddy family as our Chief Companion Officer and he lives permanently with one of our longtime employees.

And to think, just a couple of years ago, GoDaddy sold their services on the idea of creeping on women in the shower, or full frontal nudity (natch!), or bra snappings & beaver jokes. Where was your outrage then, America?

Client: Godaddy